Assault rifle fire roared through the valley as the Covenant special forces tore a whole through my team's defense line. Every time we thought we had a bunker secure, a banshee's fuel rod cannons would tear it to pieces. We were losing troops faster than we could fire rounds and I was about to issue the order to blow our ammo reserve and head for the swamp where we could find cover.

Just as I was about to switch on my radio a message came through, "Dropship in-bound". Salvation had arrived. My team lobbed our remaining grenades into the advancing grunt line and then ran for the landing zone. Every step we took was met with a hail of plasma bolts and I no longer had to worry about not being able to fit everyone on the ship. Just as the first marine leapt into the dropship, I heard the ominous sound of Banshee engines. I screamed at the marines to get their asses moving but the first fuel rod blast turned my second-in-command into nothing but spray. The last marine had just managed to throw himself in as the dropship lifted and quickly sped in the direction of our evac zone. Once we were a few miles from here the Covenant wouldn't bother sending more troops just for my squad.

As we flew over the vast forests and marshes of Horous Prime, I tried to count the number of troops we had lost. I could still clearly see that Covenant elite driving his sword through Raven squad sergeant's chest. I couldn't get our defeat out of my mind, how the hell were we suppose to ever win this war. We were flying extremely low to avoid being spotted on long-range radar and I could even make out individual trees as they zipped by.

Just as I was getting my mind off the carnage and enjoying the scenery, a flaming blue orb shot up from the forest and attached itself to the vehicle locks on the dropship. "GRENADE!"... We all covered our heads as the flaming ball exploded and sent the dropship into a nose dive. The pilot managed to pull up just enough to avoid the complete destruction of the ship and us, but it wasn't enough to stop us from slamming into the ground and sliding at insane speeds through the woods. Trees shattered like toothpicks and we were spinning madly. We were beginning to slow slightly just as we collided with a rock wall. The nose hit first and the pilot was crushed into a bloody mess. The few marines that hadn't buckled in correctly were sent flying through the air to have their skulls crushed on the wall of the passenger area. Anyone who was still breathing had the sense to get the hell out of there. We grabbed our rifles and any ammo we could then ran out into the woods. Just as we cleared the debris area the dropship's engines finally gave in and the rock wall tumbled under the explosion. We all looked at each other and counted our ammo. My sniper rifle had a full magazine and I was loaded down with all the ammo I could carry, I always kept my gear together and had never bothered to remove my ammo sash. Too bad the rest of the marines had one or two spare mags at most. I had to assume that the grenade hadn't come from one lost grunt, so we had to move fast.

After a few hours of trudging through forest and swamp we decided to rest. I volunteered to scout the valley ahead from a nearby cliff. I crawled up onto the edge of the rock and peered down. Damn, I could see a Covenant command group set-up in a clearing below. Getting past their patrols would be a serious problem. I headed back to the group, and when I was about to enter the area we had used to rest in, I heard a strange, guttural growl. Hunters! I carefully looked into our camp and saw my team surrounded by elites and hunters with guns pointed at their heads. Unfortunately, I knew what my marines would, and had to do. As I expected, Reiner (one of my men) started to slowly reach down his side. The elite hand't noticed yet. Reiner soon had his hand on his grenade and pressed the button. As the green light flashed, the elite noticed and dove for cover, as did I. The explosion ripped the elites...and my men apart. The hunters were barely alive and crawling to their feet. I finished them off with a pistol round to each of their exposed throats. The Covenant would have had to have been deaf not to hear that grenade go off, so I headed to the dense forest area to the right of the valley.

I had found a spot overlooking the landing pad of the Covenant base. For a second I had the idea of stealing a dropship and getting the hell out of here. Then I noticed the Red Elites patrolling. Now why would the Covenant have a body guard squad here...? Then I saw him. A Covie commander, with the status of fleet admiral. If I could nail that bastard then all of my men dying would actually be worth something. I was about 500 meters out of range and those circling banshees were starting to worry me. I began the slow, nerve-racking crawl towards a vantage point that was in range.

A banshee started to make tighter circles of my area, he had seen something. I lay there, not moving for half an hour. Finally, the banshee made a sharp turn and resumed his normal pattern and I continued on. I reached the vantage point and looked through my scope down onto the landing zone. After one shot the commander would be behind cover and I would be as good as dead, and one shot would only take down his shields. Covies also have to take down their shields for a split second as they pick up a plasma sword or else it will give them an unpleasant jolt of energy. The commander's sword lay on the table in front of him...

Hours passed and he chatted with special forces leaders and occasionally would bark an order to his guards. Yet he never picked up his sword. Then it happened, the cannon on the dropship had a misfire because some grunt had tripped on a layed out wire. The guards dove to the side of their commander and he, obviously by instinct, reached out for his sword. I watched as his finger contacted the handle of the sword, and as it lit up, I fired one round through his curved-back skull. He went limp and tumbled in a lump to the ground. The guards went completely frantic, one tried to revive his commander (not the smartest of the bunch, the commander had a gaping hole in his brain) and the rest grabbed scanners and radios. They wanted blood for blood and would not stop until they had found me.

Elites and hunters were all around me and closing in fast. I had no chance in hell of surviving, and there was no way I would allow myself to be captured. Time to visit Reiner...